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“Oh no, what did you do to my girl?” Gray asked accusingly. He adored Alessia.
Avery perked up at the first sip of his new drink. “I can taste the alcohol again. Must mean I’m soberin’ up.”
Or…Darius had given his friend two-thirds vodka and one-third lime juice.
“I didn’t do anything,” Adam defended. “I tried…to knock up my wife, but she was like, maybe we should discuss this first, tesoro, and I was like, but don’t we want another kid, and she was like, I would love one, but don’t freaking throw out my birth control before we’ve made the decision together. And she waved her Italian li’l fist at me and everythin’.”
Gray and Madigan cracked up hard, whereas the other men shook their heads at Adam.
“Now I miss Hazel,” Avery muttered into his drink. “Have another kid, Adam. Have a Hazel. My little nut. I love Grace and Julia to pieces, but Hazel was such a calm baby. First to sleep through the night, never makes much fuss.”
“Then you know she’ll be the one giving you all the grief once she grows up,” Sebastian chuckled.
“I was gonna say,” Darius agreed. “’Cause Hazel’s just like her mother.”
Avery scowled at the others.
Darius finally handed Gray his new drink. “You have fifteen minutes. Aiden’s coming to pick us up.”
Oh man. “He texted?”
Darius nodded. “I talked to him when the Tenleys left, and we decided three-thirty.” He rose from his seat for some reason, but he had to steady himself to keep from falling over, and everyone got themselves another laugh. “I’m too old for this.” He found it funny too. “I blame you, knucklehead.”
“And so the wedded bliss begins.” Gray held up his drink in a silent cheers. “Where’re you goin’?”
“I gotta piss.” Darius belched into his fist and walked unsteadily toward the bathroom.
“Consider giving me a clue about our honeymoon while you’re in there!” Gray hollered. He totally ignored Darius’s gruff laughter and turned to their friends for support, instead. “Seriously! He won’t tell me anything. Like, are we leaving right after the reception? Should I pack? Or are we waiting till next week or next month? Maybe the summer? I don’t know!”
“All I can say is, he’s worked a lot on it, so be patient,” Avery replied.
So he knew. The bastard.
“How many know?” Gray pressed.
Avery shrugged. “Just Ryan and me, I think. And a set of grandparents.”
For babysitting purposes, no doubt.
Gray chugged from his drink and decided it was best to just move on. He knew they were going back to that amazing little hotel outside Victoria. The more he thought about it, the more confident he got. Well—possibly Vancouver if Darius was going all out on a city vacation. But Victoria seemed more plausible. For one, it was the more romantic location. For two, they’d had their own hot tub on the terrace where they’d had an amazing view of the mountains. It’d been one of those chalet-type hotels, where rustic met luxury, nature met absolute comfort.
It’d been a wonderful weekend.
“Where did you take Elise on your honeymoon?” he asked.
“Switzerland and northern Italy.” Avery smiled. “I think we went to six chocolate tastings—she was so fucking adorable.”
Oh yeah, Gray had seen pictures of that. “What about you, Adam?”
“Two weeks in Aruba, just me and the missus on the beach.” Adam smiled too, and he looked like he wanted to go home.
That sounded fantastic for a summer vacation. But Italy? Yeah, Gray really hoped to get the chance to explore a bit of Europe sometime with Darius.
He glanced to Sebastian and Blake next, and he knew where they’d gone. “How long were you guys on your trip?” They’d rented a fancy RV and toured the country with their pack of dogs, and it’d settled things for them. After summer, when prices dropped, they were buying an RV.
Gray had followed Sebastian’s Insta religiously for updates on their trip.
The two glanced at each other.
“About a month, right?” Blake asked.
Sebastian nodded. “We started heading home from New Orleans around the three-week mark, yeah.”
That was a possibility too, Gray realized. That Darius was taking him on a road trip. They had so many good memories from the road trip that’d essentially turned them into a family.
As Darius returned, Gray’s entire being flooded with longing to start their married life together. No matter where they ended up going, he knew it was gonna be amazing.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Damn, this is the life,” Reese yawns.
I agree with him.
Breakfast on the porch is my religion.
I finish the last of my bacon, then sit back with a sigh of contentment and grab your hand.
We’re getting hitched tomorrow.
But right now, it’s just a slow morning at home. Reese, River, and I will finish the enclosure for the rabbits today. You’re gonna humor your ma with a final fitting of the children’s clothes for tomorrow. Then we’ll have our first proper barbecue of the season tonight with our friends, and I heard what you said earlier to Shay; he asked you to teach him how to do something in the kitchen. So that’s what you’ll be doing.
